stevesainty

Whilst browsing through some old threads I happened on a great debate about TEFL and the relative merits of it as a qualification. Some people who held the qualification but had no teaching experience floundered when they actually began teaching. Others said that the only worthy qualification was a CELTA but this was not for beginners.

This got me thinking about how to use some of the spare time I will have when I retire to Spain.

I spent a career in the UK Fire Service and a good many years of that career was spent in teaching of one form or another. I have been a tutor in lots of different genres; to young children, WI as the guest speaker, colleagues or people who paid to come on a Fire Warden's course etc.

The thrill of leaving the students with more knowledge then they arrived with always left me with a buzz.

However I wonder if I would have had as much success if I hadn't known my subject inside out.

My question is this, would it be beneficial for me to take a TEFL course that was say 40 hours classroom work and 120 hours online? This is the type of course one can enrol for on the internet.

I would love to be able to teach english; in the beginning as a swap to learn better Spanish but later to earn a bit of pocket money.

I have been learning Spanish part time at an adult education institute for over 2 years now.

What do you think?

bil

God knows. I thought along those lines too, but on enquiring at a school here,. I was told that they had such teachers coming out of their ears, so I reckoned the work wasn't worth the candle.

Veleta

It depends on whether you want to take the job seriously or not.

If you just plan on doing a few private classes in people's homes, mostly conversation based to earn yourself a bit of extra pocket money then you could wag it with any old qualification.

If you plan on seeking a proper job in an academy then any decent academy is going to insist on a proper qualification and that means a CELTA/DELTA. Many academies will also insist on a minimum of 2 years experience too, but not all.

stevesainty

I was not thinking of getting a proper job, but I do like to do things properly and wondered whether a TEFL course would give me a string to my bow. Or maybe I would be wasting my time and money?

jimenato

Around here there are TEFL teachers who haven't taught anyone for years. I asked the head of English at the local International school (who is a friend) if it would be worthwhile for me to do and he just told me it would be a waste of time. Lots of his colleagues and colleagues' partners have TEFL and none of them can get any work - in peoples homes, at school, anywhere.

I'm not too far from bil who has the same view - it might be different in other parts of Spain I suppose...

bil

Especially if you are not thinking seriously about gatting a job, I'd rate it as a waste of time. It might be that where you go there is a shortage of teachers, but even then, I'd give it a miss.

Veleta

If you are not thinking of getting a proper job then I would save your money.

A proper (eg, Cambridge) course is going to set you back circa 1000 pounds/euros. A mickey mouse course will no doubt be a lot cheaper, but I think they are a total con. Not worth the paper they are written on. Anyone who knows anything about the industry would scoff at that type of qualfication.

Veleta

Oh, and regarding demand for English teachers.....it depends hugely on where you are. I imagine that if you frequent a typical Spanish costa with loads of other Brits then you'll have a lot of competition and it could be difficult to find work.

However, in my city there is a lot of demand for private 1:1 teachers, mostly for conversation classes. It's very, very, very difficult for the Spanish to track us down and even unqualified "teachers" have no difficulty in finding private work.

It's a different story if you want to work in an academy though....a proper qualification is a must.